TOBACCO-PIPE MANUFACTURE. The materials of which tobacco-pipes are formed are very numerous. White and coloured earths, porcelain, metals, ivory, horn, shell, costly woods, agate, con. nelian, talc, and amber, are among tho substances which have been used for the purpose. The forms admit of equal variety; but perhaps the most remarkable is the oriental hookah, in which the smoke is purified by panting through water.
The tobacco-pipes most commonly used in this country are formed of a fine-grained plastic white clay, which is celled, from this appli cation, pipeclay. It is procured chiefly from Purbeck in Dorsetshire, and is purified from all foreign substances by working it with water Into a thin paste, and then either allowing it to settle in pits, or pass. ing it through a sieve, to separate the siliceous or other stony matter. The water is subsequently evaporated until the clay becomes of a doughy consistence, when it must be well kneaded to make it uniform. It is finally formed into cubical masses of about one hundred pounds each. From one of these the workman cuts off just euough to make ono pipe. Each piece is kneaded thoroughly upon a board, and rolled out to nearly the form and size of a pipe, with a projecting bulb at one end for the formation of the bowl. These pieces are laid aside for some time to dry, and when the clay is sufficiently firm, they are sub jected to the curious process of boring. The workman takes the roll of clay in his left hand, and with his right inserts the end of an iron needle, previously oiled, In the small end of the roll, and by dexterous management thrusts the needle through the whole length of the roll without penetrating the surface. The bulb is then bent lute the proper position to form the bowl, and the piece of clay, with the needle remaining in it, is pressed into a mould to complete its form.
Tobacco-pipe-moulds are formed either of copper, brass, or iron, and each consists of two precisely similar halves, with projecting pins in one half, and corresponding holes in the other, which ensure their exact union. On their inner surfaces, which are hollowed so as to
fit the finished pipe, may be added any ornamental device or in scription. One half of the mould being laid flat, the pipe is placed In it, covered with the other half, and then firmly premed. The bowl is partially hollowed by the finger, and completed by the inser tion of an oiled stopper or mould. The wire is thrust backwards and forwards until it becomes visible in the bowl. The wires are now withdrawn, and the pipes are taken out of the moulds, slightly smoothed over, and laid aside to dry. After drying for a day or two, any remaining roughness is removed by means of an instrument of bone or hard wood ; and then the pipes arc sometimes moulded a second time, and polished with a piece of flint bored with holes, through which the stem is passed repeatedly. Hitherto the pipes are straight in the stem ; but before going to the kiln they are slightly bent. It is said that a clever pipe-moulder will make three thousand five hundred in one day. They are fired in a tobacco-pipe-kiln, which consists of a large but very light cylindrical crucible or nagger, with a dome-shaped top, and a circular opening in one side for the insertion of the pipes.
At the Cheltenham Meeting of the British Association, in 1856, Mr. Strong stated that tobacco-pipes are now made more extensively at Glasgow than in any other part of the United Kingdom. There are 600 persons employed, who manufacture, finish, and abont 2700 gross of pipes per day, or about 120 millions in a year.
A remarkable kind of pipe for smoking is described under MEERRCRAUDI.
TOD, an old measure of wool, fixed at two stones, or 23 pounds avoir dupois, by a statute of the 12th of Charles IL As usual, there are several local tods.